


Three to One

by kozunma



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Betrayal, Blood and Violence, Character Death, Friendship, Gen, Hinata Shouyou & Kozume Kenma Friendship, Hinata Shouyou is Sunshine, Kageyama Tobio is a Mess, Kozume Kenma & Kuroo Tetsurou Friendship, Kuroo Tetsurou is a Good Friend, Oblivious Hinata Shouyou, POV Kozume Kenma, Survival, basically everything goes to shit lmao, i dont know what else to say but people die
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-12
Updated: 2020-12-12
Packaged: 2021-03-10 17:09:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,706
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28020693
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kozunma/pseuds/kozunma
Summary: In a cruel game of betrayal, Kenma, Kuroo, Hinata, and Kageyama enter a botanical garden as players. The game goes as so: one wolf amongst three sheep. The wolf must hide from the sheep who are out to kill him. If the wolf dies, the role is transferred; however, the role can also be transferred by direct eye contact.In the beginning of the game, weapons are offered, and collars must be worn. The four enter the botanical garden with fear leading them.
Relationships: Hinata Shouyou & Kozume Kenma & Kuroo Tetsurou
Kudos: 12





	Three to One

**Author's Note:**

> Based off of the live adaptation "Alice in Borderland", a Netflix Series.

“We have to go to the next game,” Kenma mumbles to the others as he leans against the railing, cheek resting on his arms. For the past couple of days, the four have been running around and avoiding death. Kenma was exhausted as much as everyone else was, but they couldn’t stay in one place for too long.

“We still have to wait for Hinata and Kageyama to come back,” Kuroo comments as he stands beside Kenma. Kenma sighs softly and rubs his eyes. They stung from not getting a lot of sleep; the adrenaline from the dangerous games kept him up.

Kenma turns around to face the shops in the mall. It’s dark, cold, and the only form of life in the area is him and Kuroo. Kenma still remembers how they got here in the first place. It stopped feeling like a dream when he witnessed a young school girl get shot in the head from a laser beam that came out of nowhere. He can still see the image of her fear-stricken eyes hiding faintly behind her blonde hair.

“How are you feeling?” Kenma asks, motioning to Kuroo’s wound. The elder shakes his head, pressing a hand to the pained area.

“Don’t worry about me. I’m alright.” Kenma frowns at that, heart tightening in his chest. He wasn’t there when Kuroo was stabbed, but he heard the story and it terrified him. Kenma didn’t want to lose Kuroo.

Footsteps head their way, and the two push away from the railing to see Hinata and Kageyama return. “Are you guys ready?” Hinata asks, a kind smile gracing his features. Kenma inhales and looks back out at the botanical garden in the distance that had a beam emitting light. It’s like a video game—a quest is waiting for them.

“We’ve just been waiting on you two,” Kuroo replies for Kenma who’s too busy looking at the beam. “Come on, let’s not be late. God knows what the fuck would happen.”

“In this shitty world?” Kenma snorts. “I wouldn’t be surprised if a damn panther chased us there.”

The four set off for their game, and the adrenaline in their veins buzz to life. Kenma casts a glance over at Hinata and Kageyama who seem lost in their own conversation. Looking at Kuroo, the elder looks too brave and confident in this situation.

“You’re overthinking again.” Kuroo looks at Kenma who glances away.

“How could I not?” he mumbles. “You’ve seen the shit we’ve been through the past few days. Who knows what this game brings us?”

Kuroo takes Kenma by the shoulders and leans to his height. “Hey,” he says softly, “we’ll get through this together, okay? I promise. We did with the other games. You’re brave. You play video games for a living, Kenma. If anything, you have a lot more intelligence in this simulation than any of us do.”

Kenma blushes and punches lightly at Kuroo’s shoulder. “Shut up, you moron.” Kuroo laughs and stands straight, eyes holding an indescribable emotion when he looks at the garden.

“Let’s head inside.” Kuroo walks to the building with the other three trailing behind. Kenma keeps close to Kuroo, his anxiety spiking when he sees the array of weapons on the table. Beside that is another table that holds four mechanical collars and the phones they’re always provided with at the start of every game. Kenma watches Kuroo pick up a sheepsfoot blade and weigh it in his hand. “I’ll be using this.”

Kenma purses his lips and picks up a phone, letting it scan his face before confirming him as a player. In an electronic voice, the phone notifies all players to put their collars on before the game could commence. 

“Aren’t these the same collars from the last game?” Hinata inquires as he picks one up. Kenma notices it too, and the fear washes over him quickly. His mind flashes scenes of the woman’s head being blown when she didn’t complete her job in killing the players.

With shaky hands, the four wrap the collars around their neck. Along with the collars came glasses that scan other players and identifies them.

_ Welcome, players.  _

The group turns to face the large screen behind them that has text written on it. Kenma can still feel his heart pounding every second the collar stays around his neck.

_ Today’s game is a game of survival. Among four players will be a wolf. _

“Wolf..?” No one spares a glance at Kageyama.

_ Three sheep. The wolf must run and hide, or kill the sheep who are out to kill them. There can only be one survivor in this game. You have 15 minutes to kill the wolf. _

Hinata starts to panic and pulls at the collar. Kenma immediately rushes to stop Hinata. “Stop, the collar may explode if you force it off!”

“I don’t want to play this game!” Hinata screams. “I want out!”

“You can’t leave! You’ll die if you do.” Kenma does his best to keep Hinata from prying the collar off. An animated laugh echoes in the garden, and all eyes meet the screen. 

Kenma was the wolf.

Fear suffocates Kenma, and he looks over at Kuroo. When their eyes meet, another animated laughter echoes. Kuroo was the wolf now. 

Kageyama takes a step away from the group and grabs a weapon. “Everyone.” When the three turn, Kageyama makes direct eye contact with Kuroo. “I’m sorry.” Then, he darts off. 

“Kageyama!” Kuroo growls and runs after him.

“Kuroo!” Kenma shouts for his friend, but he was already gone. 

“Kenma, we—what do we do?” Kenma gapes like a fish, unsure of what to say to Hinata.

“We have to make sure no one dies.”

Hinata takes in a sharp breath. “We’re going to die anyway, won’t we?”

Kenma turns away, teeth grinding. “Even if we do, I’m glad to have been transported here with you guys.” Hinata smiles just a little. “We have to find them. Kuroo... I’m scared Kuroo might kill Kageyama.”

With a nod, they both set off in the direction that Kuroo and Kageyama ran off in. After a few minutes of running around, the two pause in their footsteps when the laughter echoes. They share a look.

“Kuroo.. didn’t kill him, right?” Kenma slowly shakes his head at Hinata. They hear grunts and cries of pain, and they rush to the scene to see that Kageyama had a rock in his fist, ramming it into Kuroo’s stab wound.

“Kuroo!” Kenma rushes over and shoves Kageyama off of Kuroo, sending a kick to his ribs. “Fuck, Kuroo, are you okay?” The male groans and grips his side, shaking his head.

“That goddamn bitch.” Kuroo glares at Kageyama who withers in pain from the blow to his side. “Are you alright, kitten?” When they lock eyes, Kenma becomes the wolf. “Kitten?”

The fear hits Kenma hard, and he pulls away from Kuroo with his gaze down. “I’m a weak man,” he says. “I—I’m sorry, Kuroo.” Kenma scurries to his feet and runs.

“Kenma!” Kuroo punches the ground and staggers to his feet to chase after Kenma while Hinata grabs Kageyama to prevent him from running off.

“You were going to kill us all!” Hinata shouts, struggling to keep Kageyama pinned.

“You’re going to be the death of us if you don’t let me go!” Kageyama thrusts his elbow against Hinata’s ribs, but the boy doesn’t let up.

“You don’t even care if we die. You just want to live like the selfish bastard you are!” Over their headphones, they can hear Kuroo screaming for Kenma.

Kenma had gone back to the table full of weapons, and he spots screwdrivers and pliers. Quickly grabbing them, he runs off again to find a safe spot. 

“Kenma, get back here! You don’t know what you’re doing. You’ll kill us all!” Kuroo moans in pain from his wound, screaming out for his friend. “Fucking hell.”

When he finds a mirror in the garden, Kenma does his best to try and remove anything from the collar. He uses the Phillips screwdriver first, but to no avail; he switches to the Slotted screwdriver next, and it’s the same failed sequence. 

_ “Kenma, you don’t have to do this,” _ Kuroo speaks over their headset.

_ Ten minutes and 30 seconds remaining. _

Kenma stares at himself as he grips the pliers tightly.  _ You’re a coward,  _ the darkest part of Kenma’s mind whispers.  _ You’ll kill them all to live. Kuroo is going to die. You’d really let that happen? _

The pliers fall from Kenma’s grip as he stares at himself. Somewhere amongst the white noise playing in his head, he can hear Hinata and Kageyama screaming at each other, and there’s Kuroo who is calling out for him to stop hiding. Kenma drops to his knees and hugs himself.

_ “Kenma,” _ Kuroo’s voice is shaky, and the boy knows why.  _ “You.. never really had anything going on for you, right?” _ Kenma knows this. All he ever did was play games, stream, and he doesn’t pull his weight in the house. Before they entered this simulation, Kenma had just been kicked out of his house because of what he was doing. His father wasn’t happy.

That day, Kuroo and Hinata met with him near Shibuya Station. They talked about the things that happened to them. Kuroo was fired from his job that day, and Hinata skipped work. Kenma remembers how Kuroo had lifted him onto his shoulders in the middle of the road when the other civilians were crossing.

Hinata had his phone out, recording the whole thing as they share a great laugh. Then, they were running from the police for causing an accident.

_ “We were supposed to move out of Tokyo,” _ Kuroo continues to speak breathlessly. Kenma sobs quietly, hands clasped over his mouth to not be heard.  _ “You were building a company, weren’t you? You did have something going for yourself, but you kept it all hidden from your father. He wouldn’t have understood your intentions, right?” _

Kenma shakes his head but still says nothing.

_ Seven minutes remaining. _

Kuroo sighs. _ “You may not have thought that your time was worth anything, but to Hinata and I? Your time was worth every second.”  _

“It wasn’t,” Kenma whispers. “My clock stops moving when I’m with you guys. It makes me feel like we never had enough time together.”

_ “We had plenty of time, Kenma,” _ Hinata speaks up.  _ “We always had time. Those nights we shared when your father would kick you out. How we would buy ramen and eat under the freeway. Just because we don’t travel together or live life to the fullest doesn’t mean we lost any time.” _

_ “What he said.”  _ Kuroo snorts.

“I.. I don’t have anything, still.” Kenma sniffles. “Kuroo, you were going to get that scholarship, weren’t you? Hinata, you had a volleyball scholarship as well.”

_ “Ah, what does all that mean? We at least made it here with you, right? Isn’t that what counts?”  _ Hinata laughs softly.

“I don’t deserve to live.” Kenma rises to his feet. “Kuroo, where are you?”

_ “You do deserve to live,” _ Kuroo replies.

“Kuroo, where are you?” Kenma repeats. He’s met with silence. “Hinata?”

_ Four minutes and 20 seconds remaining. _

Kenma starts running around the garden, screaming for his friends. Kuroo stays hidden where he is when he hears Kenma coming closer. “Kuroo! Hinata!” Kenma rushes to the spot they last saw Hinata and Kageyama, but they were gone. “Hinata? Kageyama?”

_ “Gosh,” _ Kuroo finally speaks up,  _ “you keep blabbering, huh?” _

“Where are you guys?”

_ “Remember that night under the freeway?” _ Kuroo asks.  _ “The one where you made Hinata laugh so hard that noodles came out of his nose?” _

Hinata laughs at that.  _ “Hey, you don’t have to bring that up…” _

“We were just kids then. We never thought we would be here,” Kenma mumbles. “I’m serious, though. Where are you guys? Stop hiding.”

_ “We aren’t hiding,” _ Kuroo lies.  _ “You just suck at finding us. You always suck at hide and seek.” _

_ “He hid in the most obvious spaces. I’m convinced Kenma just doesn’t like the game.” _

Kenma feels tears rising back into his eyes. “You guys know I hated hide and seek. I always did, but I played because you two enjoyed it.”

_ Two minutes remaining. _

“Can we stop talking about this already? We don’t have time!” Kenma starts running again to try and find his friends.

_ “You did have more potential than the rest of us,” _ Kuroo continues talking.  _ “If you ever get out of this shit simulation, build that company. Become a success, Kenma.” _

“Stop talking like you’re going to die.” Kenma laughs bitterly. “I don’t deserve to live. You do. Hinata does. Fuck, even Kageyama. We shouldn’t even be here. I should have died in the first game, not that girl who still had a lot to live for. Even the second game, and the next.”

_ “Without you, none of us would be here.” _ Kuroo laughs softly. _ “You’re the one who helped us out of our first game. Your smarts saved us.” _

“But it also killed someone because I was too damn slow.”

_ One minute remaining. _

“For fuck’s sake, Kuroo, stop hiding!” Kenma cries out and runs around like a headless chicken. 

_ “Hey, Kenma?” _ Hinata calls quietly.  _ “Since none of us are making it out of here alive, I might as well come clean. It doesn’t look like Kuroo is.” _

_ “Oi, what are you—” _

Hinata cuts off Kuroo.  _ “Kuroo and I made a bunch of calls and established connections with a lot of people to help build your company. They are looking forward to working with you. If, and when, you leave this game, their contact information is in my room on my corkboard. Build that company.”  _ Hinata takes a deep breath, accepting his fate. Even Kageyama stops struggling. He faces Hinata and hugs him tightly, crying into his shoulder.

_ Twenty seconds remaining. _

Kenma smells cigarette smoke, and he turns to find Kuroo sitting on the stone bench with a cigarette in hand. Kuroo rarely smokes, and to see him ruining his lungs makes Kenma realize too late that this was the end.

“Kitten?” Kenma smiles at Kuroo, walking to him. “Live for us.”

“Kuroo, no. Please.. Please, don’t do this. Look at me.”

_ Five _

“Before I leave.”

_ Four _

“Kuroo—”

_ Three _

“I love you, Kenma.”

_ Two _

“Kuroo!”

_ One.  _

Kenma’s heart shatters when he watches the collar explode around Kuroo’s neck, killing him instantly. The blood sprays onto Kenma’s face, and he watches Kuroo’s body fall to the ground. His heart races in his chest, and he couldn’t breathe. All Kenma could do was scream into the emptiness of the garden. The boy falls to his knees and screams his heart out, tears streaming down his cheeks.

With shaky limbs, Kenma crawls over to Kuroo’s lifeless body and hesitantly pulls it close. The sight is horrific, and it doesn’t help the fact that Kuroo’s eyes are wide open and empty. Lifeless. Kenma sobs and presses his forehead to Kuroo’s own, crying against him.

“You—” Kenma whimpers— “Fuck you, Kuroo. You are s-so damn selfish.” The blood stains Kenma’s hands, face, and clothes. “You h-had to go and hide those f-feelings. You selfish son of a bitch.” Kenma’s words held no venom. “You even broke your promise. You s-said that we would get through this to-together. I hate you so damn much…”

Kenma doesn’t leave the garden for a while. He holds onto Kuroo’s body for as long as he could before laying him to rest with Hinata and Kageyama. Seeing them makes him cry once again since they were tightly embraced. It was almost impossible separating them. 

After that, Kenma walks out of the botanical garden to see the sun rising. They were there the whole night, trying to survive and escape. He hates that he’s even alive right now.

But he can’t break their last wish— _ live for them.  _ Despite the guilt and trauma weighing him down, telling him it’s all his fault for being so cowardly, Kenma fights against its strength and carries on. He clenches the charm around his neck that Kuroo got him for his 18th birthday.

It’s all he has left in this cruel game of survival.


End file.
